At a Washington, D.C., bar on Monday, one of my brothers and I had the pleasure of meeting one of our sporting heroes, Wayne Rooney. A long-time star striker in the English Premier League, Rooney now plays for D.C. United.
But as longtime fans of Everton – an upper mid-tier club in the Premier League – my two brothers and I (one is currently researching whales off the coast of Africa) have held Rooney in high regard since he began playing for Everton in August 2002. While Rooney was quickly sold to Manchester United, where he spent 13 years and scored many goals, he returned to Everton for one final hurrah in last year’s 2017-2018 season. For us to meet Rooney was a cause for great excitement.
While we took pains not to bother him excessively – we simply said hello and shook his hand – Rooney was kind and didn’t dismiss us.
Yet our interaction also stood out for another reason more relevant to your attention. Namely, while Rooney was at the bar, very few patrons recognized him. In turn, Rooney and his friends were able to enjoy their drink without being bothered. Perhaps that speaks to why an increasing number of European soccer stars are relocating to the U.S.: they know their social lives are far less likely to be defined by roaming paparazzi and fans (like myself) who bother them at every opportunity. Let’s hope the trend continues so that the U.S. finally builds a culture of football worthy of attracting our best athletes.
Anyway, here are a couple of photos of my brother and I in our Everton gear. Monday was a good day.
